The Latest: Prosecutor says he had 1 drink before DUI arrest

Updated 2:17 pm, Tuesday, February 23, 2016

LEXINGTON, S.C. (AP) — The Latest on the driving under the influence arrest of Solicitor Donnie Myers (all times local):

7:15 p.m.

Prosecutor Donnie Myers told troopers investigating his car wreck that another driver ran him off the road and he only had one drink.

In a South Carolina Highway Patrol incident report, troopers say they could smell alcohol in Myers' car when they found it empty around 8 p.m. Monday after it crashed into a utility pole.

The report says a trooper went to Myers' home and he told them he hadn't had a drink since arriving. The trooper says Myers struggled to recite the alphabet and failed other sobriety tests.

The report says Myers also left a gun behind in the driver's side floorboard of his wrecked car.

It wasn't known if Myers had a lawyer and the solicitor's office did not comment about his arrest.

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8 a.m.

Prosecutor Donnie Myers of Lexington has been arrested on a drunken driving charge.

Public Safety Department spokeswoman Sherri Iacobelli said in a statement that the Highway Patrol was called to a wreck around 8 p.m. Monday.

Troopers determined the empty car that had hit a utility pole was owned by Myers. Troopers went to his home and determined he was driving under the influence. A test revealed his blood alcohol level was 0.09 percent. The legal limit is 0.08 percent.

The 70-year-old Myers pleaded guilty to drunken driving following an arrest near Asheville, North Carolina, in 2005, serving one year of probation. He paid a fine after being charged with having an open container of alcohol in his car in 2012.